Revival and Restoration

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word revival as:

1.    Restoration to life, conscientiousness, vigor, or strength.

2.    Restoration to use, acceptance.

3.    An awakening in a church or community, and interest in and care for matters relating to personal religion.

We just concluded our Spring Revival at Second Baptist which could be defined as a series of meetings for the express purpose of bringing about the above definitions of revival.  Did we see these things evident in and following the meetings in our individual lives?  I can give a hearty “amen” to that question!

Which brings me to a question Brother Mike posted on our Facebook page, “Is Revival over or has it just begun”.  Good question.  I would like to think it has just begun for our church, but a church is made up of individual members, so really we have to ask ourselves personally to get a true answer.  So I ask you, have you experienced a restoration to life and strength in the Lord?  Are you sensing a restoration to use or acceptance to the Lord’s work?  Have you felt an awakening to interest in and care for matters relating to your personal walk of faith in Christ?

If you have not, why not?  What will it take?

Vance Havner made this statement years ago, “Revival is the church falling in love with Jesus all over again.”

There’s a song by Shane and Shane that has the following lyrics:

When I think about the Lord
How He saved me, how He raised me
How He filled me with the Holy Ghost
How He healed me to the uttermost

If we start to really dwell on what Jesus Christ has done for us the love of God really does well up in our hearts for Christ.

Brian Edwards said, “In revival, the minds of people are concentrated upon things of eternity, and there is an awareness that nothing else really matters.”

That should be true of us.